Biography

Paul William Dawkins is a versatile film composer and filmmaker based in Sydney, Australia. With a background in music, he began his career as a musician, songwriter, record producer and session musician in his teens, working with a diverse array of instruments, including drums, piano, synths, bass, guitar, and even unique sounds (like the duduk and water-phone). Paul played in notable Australian bands such as Matt Finish and Split Dogs and worked with a number of Australian rock and pop luminaries before moving into film post-production audio, and scoring.

His breakthrough came with the cult horror film The Tunnel (2010), which established him as a prominent composer in the industry. Since then, he has crafted award-winning scores for a variety of features, documentaries, and shorts, including Event Zero, Hungry For Change, Airlock, The Crossing, The Connection, and Palindromes. His work on the short film Terrarial earned him the "Best Music" award at a global competition (20th Century Fox), and he received a nomination for Best Score for Airlock (OzFlix Awards).

Paul's scoring work is also showcased in the anthology A Night Of Horror Volume One, which won the Melbourne Underground Film Festival Special Jury Prize.

More recently, he scored the acclaimed horror features Beast No More and Incantation, as well as the notable short film Mongrel, and the 2024 acclaimed horror feature Water Horse (2024). In addition to composing, Paul is an experienced screenwriter and film producer, having co-written or written and directed award-winning short films such as A Remarkable Career, and the horror comedy Dead People Problems. With a portfolio boasting dozens of credits across various genres, he is known for his ability to blend classic scoring techniques with modern sounds, creating powerful, resonant, and melodic music.

He also continues to explore his passion for electronic rock music with his band projects, and runs his own film and media production company, Sheep's Clothing.

- IMDb mini biography by: Paul William Dawkins